Ray Noe - Memphis Entrepeneur

Memphis' own Vance Lauderdale posted not one, but two items about Mr. Ray Noe, Memphis Entrepreneur on Ask Vance.  It appears Mr. Noe developed a "Graduated Exerciser" consisting of a strip of rubber with handles on each end, and a successful mail order business began.  Apparently, the feds charged him with fraud in the early 1940s due to some of the more "optimistic" claims in his advertisements.  Despite the charge, the government just confiscated some of his product, removed the labelling, and donated it to a charitable organization.  Other than this brief interruption, Mr. Noe continued to make and sell these devices until his death in the 1970s, living on North Auburndale all the while.  Interestingly, many similar devices are still available today.